Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC)

AUS-TSR-AGR-SEC General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range

Range: 0.1 to 0.4 dS/m

Optimal Range: 0.1 to 0.4

Direction: Lower is desirable ↓

Form: OptimalRange

Scoring Curve

This curve shows how a field measurement for this indicator would score across all available benchmark forms in this context. The scoring engine uses 17 benchmarks together — the OptimalRange form drives the primary score, while 16 guard(s) constrain the result.

Contributing Benchmarks

OptimalRange Primary MinimumOnly Guard UpperThreshold Guard MaximumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard Point Guard OptimalRange Guard MinimumOnly Guard Point Guard OptimalRange Guard MaximumOnly Guard MinimumOnly Guard MinimumOnly Guard OptimalRange Guard OptimalRange Guard OptimalRange Guard OptimalRange Guard

Evidence & Context

The general soil quality guideline defining non-saline soils as having an ECe of < 0.4 dS/m provides an excellent upper boundary for this optimal range.

Metric Definition:

Soil Electrical Conductivity (EC) measured as Electrical Conductivity of the Saturated Paste Extract (ECe) in dS/m.

Benchmark Definition:

Optimal functional range for Soil EC representing a healthy balance of nutrient availability without salinity stress.

Justification:

This range is consistent with general non-saline soil classifications and supports healthy growth of sensitive horticultural crops common to the region.

Sources (1)

Preview of Soil health for vegetable production in Australia - Department of Primary Industries, Queensland, accessed July 18, 2025,

Soil health for vegetable production in Australia - Department of Primary Industries, Queensland, accessed July 18, 2025, Journal

Understanding soil tests for pastures | Soil | Farm management ..., accessed July 18, 2025,

View Source

Supporting Sources (2)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Growing avocados | Business Queensland, accessed July 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Government

Growing avocados | Business Queensland

View Source

Supersites get the measure of ecosystems | TERN Australia, accessed July 16, 2025,

Contextual Support Government

Supersites get the measure of ecosystems | TERN Australia

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Tropical & Subtropical Rainforests
Land Use Agricultural Crop Production
Assessment Not Stated
Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 7 Jun 2026

Notes

The optimal range for ecologically healthy agricultural soils in this biome is defined as 0.1 to 0.4 dS/m. AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-TSR-AGR-SEC family.